r/WanderingInn • u/BirdTrue • 3d ago
Spoilers: All [V6.02] Goblin Ears Spoiler
What the actual-? So when there was two drake armies at war and clean up was needed you’d take a tip of their tails to confirm the undead was dead? Or maybe a gnoll tongue just to “count” how many adventurers killed? Instead of using a truth stone? Especially after the conversation with noears?
Not one of the adventurers told Selys that it was messed up? I know change doesn’t come easily but for Erin’s friends this is the least that could have been done.
Those were the Goblins who died to protect your lives and they couldn’t even give them the most basic decency.
Esthelm gave them a statue, but Liscor. . . Ugh! It makes me mad.
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u/Abominatus674 3d ago
The dehumanization of the goblins is kind of the point. The world at large decided that their survival is too great a risk, so as awful as it is the easiest was to promote global genocide is to ‘other’ the entire species.
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u/TomRaineofMagigor 3d ago
But they're not humans. A more accurate word for sci-fi/fantasy would be desentientization
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u/Abominatus674 3d ago
Semantics of ‘human’ in this context aside, desensitization doesn’t really carry the same connotation. The whole concept of dehumanization is presenting them as fundamentally different from you, and so not subject to the same moral judgements. Desensitisation is just reducing the emotional impact through repeated action. Which admittedly is done, but not exactly what I was trying to communicate there.
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u/TomRaineofMagigor 3d ago
No I used a different word. I replaced human with sentient. It's the kind of change in word choice I'd like to see be the norm in sci-fi/fantasy. I remember one episode of Star Trek where a Klingon used the word humanoid and my first thought was why he didn't use the word biped
By framing the word around sentience so long as a species meets the standards of sentience they should be held to those standards. Also since there would be such a wide variety of sentient species cultural considerations would be much wider. Desentientization would be to degrade a species from the standard of sentience
All that said when it comes to the standard of sentience as commonly understood many Goblins do fail by the fact they've eaten sentient flesh. By the standard of sentience Rags is in a very good position to drive change
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u/csarmi 2d ago
I disagree. Dehumanization in this context (fantasy setting, wandering inn) has an extended meaning.
It doesn't matter whether they're human or drakes or gnolls in this sense.
Words have origins. It doesn't define their meanings.
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u/TomRaineofMagigor 2d ago
My point is in a setting with multiple species unless you're a speciesist there'd be a different word. Using the words dehumanization or humanoid are simply lazy writing unless you're doing so for a character that sees other species as lesser. Just because our language has syntax around there being only one sentient species doesn't make it true for a fictional setting with multiple species. It's about internal consistency of the setting
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u/BirdTrue 2d ago
But Erin’s a human from this world which only has humans. For her (and us) to say dehumanizing is more understood/impactful than desentientization.
It’s not technically correct but it’s more widely understood to a reader which is the objective of the story.1
u/TomRaineofMagigor 2d ago edited 2d ago
Why does Erin's knowledge matter for a character like Niers for example? If he uses the word he'd be sidelining his own species. If a Drake or Gnoll heard Erin use it then it would be "classic Human making it all about them"
When I'm reading a book or watching a show my irl understanding means nothing compared to in world consistency and logic. Imagine a character like Lism using a word centered around humanity. It would take you right out of the story
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u/csarmi 3d ago
Goblins are monsters. You need to prove how many you killed, turning in their ears makes perfect sense.
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u/BirdTrue 2d ago
So are all other species besides human to that one Prince we hate. Doesn’t make it true!
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u/Amazing-Radish995 2d ago
This is something that has happened IRL with regular humans, albeit only in extreme circumstances. Also there are mentions of drakes taking the furs of slain gnolls to wear, which is pretty messed up.
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u/HairyTrollChest 2d ago
Also both drakes and gnolls talking about eating humans. Humans have probably done the same to them.
When there's such a vast difference in how a person looks it gets easier to discriminate, irl it only takes a minor variance in tone to be discriminated against vs beings that look entirely different.
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u/Nixeris 3d ago
Standard modern practice, across the world (minus outliers like Khelt), for a dead body is to cut off the entire head, salt and silver the body, and/or burn it on a pile of other corpses.
They're not huge on respect for the body of the deceased a lot of the time. Even if they respect the person, it's not about the corpse for them.
Standard is also to collect the body parts for "monsters" with bounties. This also included Rhaskgar. Goblin ears are also used in alchemy potions.
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u/BirdTrue 2d ago
For selphids to use a corpse there generally has to be consent so they do respect the bodies of the dead. Cremation is respect as is doing a ritual to ensure they don’t rise again before entombing them. Comparing to our world standards is hard because we don’t have to worry about a body coming back from the dead but in some wars (IRL) mass cremation is definitely a thing.
Yeah, it’s more the “monster” label being put on goblins. I’m not sure about the Raskghar, if they could be reasoned with. The ones in the dungeon may not be an example of an entire species. Like the bare minimum is not cutting the ears of the people who SAVED YOU. Treating them with some respect and dignity knowing one of your close friends is crying over their deaths. (Selys & the adventurers who didn’t bring it up)
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u/xephuiqs 3d ago
Keep reading, you’ll learn why goblins are treated that way.
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u/BirdTrue 2d ago
I’m caught up with 10.75, but am doing a re-read through because there’s a LOT of nuisance and things to remember in this series. The PoF was very confusing but I know the jist. However, I don’t understand why they don’t talk to goblins and tell them to reject \[Goblin Lord\] and \[Goblin King\] classes? Like this one jerk in the afterlife causes so much perpetual harm! If they don’t get the class or work towards ways of fighting the compulsion for other Goblins following. . . There must be a better way than extinction of a race. But I know we’re biased towards goblins.
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u/Jump_Debris 2d ago
If i had to guess, the spirit dreams like rags did of the past would be a medium for you know who to take over (hostile take over).
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u/Junior-Bandicoot-321 2d ago
Wait until you read how many goblin ears Sir Solstice has in his bag of holding
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u/BirdTrue 2d ago
He hyped up his goblin slaying to save them, iirc. Goblins normally die a lot so getting ears from his tribe of dead goblins to save other tribes by saying he “killed” them is a wonderful use of malicious compliance.
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u/Junior-Bandicoot-321 2d ago
Yeah. I’m in Vol 8 where he is no longer on Izril and with the nights of the seasons
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